Everything was happening so fast. The world was spinning around me, and each hit rocked through the hull like an earthquake. Enemies were closing in, and their reinforcements were on the way. Most of ours had already perished. I was squeezing the trigger as fast as I could. We weren’t going to last much longer, but I at least was determined to make every shot count. We didn’t have to go down alone.
This was supposed to be a peaceful mission, so we were only lightly armed and had a small escort. Our party was theoretically discussing colonial rights to the planet looming onscreen, but our enemies had other ideas. They ambushed us in orbit. The Ambassador was already dead; someone poisoned him on-planet. Two of our escort ships had been destroyed, and another one crippled. If we made it through, there would be hell to pay for whoever poisoned the Ambassador. However, us lowly people wouldn’t get real justice. That’s reserved for the powerful.
We took another hit, knocking out our nav system. We couldn’t steer, and were sitting in space. Our enemies could use us for target practice. Within seconds, a new hit jolted our ship and sent us spiraling into the planet’s gravity well. We were toast. Through the chaos, I could hear the captain ordering everyone into life pods. There was nothing for me to do but follow orders.
The life pod was designed for one person, with minimal steering and absolutely no weapons. It was intended to keep you alive through atmospheric entry or a ship’s destruction. The pods were small enough to be nearly invisible in the black of space, but invisibility was small comfort. Around me, crewmates were piling into their own pods. I could see their faces white with tension and fear. Mine probably looked no better. It had been a long battle.
We would all launch at once. I climbed into my pod and secured myself against the floor of the capsule. Supposedly they were designed so that you would survive the crash landing, but looking at it, I wasn’t confident. The screen in front of my face lit up with a display of the planet and our position. I could have asked about the ship, but I decided that I was better off ignorant. I hadn’t prayed in years, but I found myself appealing to my childhood gods. My mother had taught me that the gods were all-merciful and all-loving, but I had seen enough suffering to make me disbelieve. Still, the thought of the gods welcoming me into paradise was a comforting one.
My life didn’t flash before my eyes, but all the things I hadn’t done did. I saw faces of friends I hadn’t talked to in a while, family members who didn’t agree with my decision. Depression sank into me. I would never get to tell my niece I loved her or…a thousand other things filled that sentence. Tears rolled down my face. I had been happy, mostly. My life was short, but it was happy. I had a job I loved, and got to see the universe. I fell in love. That’s all that matters, isn’t it? To be happy?